


She's Like Fire

by Abalidoth



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 09:22:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abalidoth/pseuds/Abalidoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Aurora has some girl troubles, but whenever she sleeps she has a friend to talk to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's Like Fire

The flames were like old friends now. Even before he opened his eyes, Henry could feel them, twisting around him, trying to burn. His grandmother had taught him how to put up mental shields, to keep himself from returning to the room with the fire. But instead Henry took her teachings, twisted them around, and learned how to walk through the flames unharmed.

After all, he didn’t want to leave his friend.

Princess Aurora’s sleeping schedule was erratic; adventurers, Henry knew, seldom kept regular hours. But she was here early tonight, sitting calmly in the corner of the flaming room. She, too, had learned how to weather the flames.

Henry walked through the inferno as though it were tall grass. He parted it in front of him with his hands, clearing a path, and went to sit next to Aurora.

“Good evening, Henry,” Aurora said, and yawned.

“Hi, Aurora. Long day?”

“A difficult one. Another dead end.”

“Aw,” Henry said. “Darn. I was hoping that old scroll would have the answers.”

“No answers. Just more monsters.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure you’ll find Phillip eventually.”

Aurora didn’t answer right away. She stared at her hands and smoothed down her dress instead. It wasn’t the one that Henry had first met her in – this one was shorter and simpler, and she wore pants under it. He still thought it looked really nice, though. That was something Henry really liked about his friend: she dressed the way she liked, and yet she still went out and had adventures.

It didn’t look like she was having very much fun adventuring, though.

“Aurora? Are you okay?”

She looked up like she was surprised he was still there. “Oh, ah…yes, sorry. I was thinking,” she said, flashing him a quick smile. “Henry, can you keep a secret?”

Henry gave her a look. “I haven’t even told anyone I’ve still been talking to you.”

She nodded. “I…think I found something in the cavern that Mulan and I explored today. A broken map, embedded in the wall. And I didn’t tell her about it.”

“How come?”

Aurora looked away. “I…don’t know that it’s wise to bring Phillip back to life. At first, I went along because I loved him. But I never even knew him that well, and the memories started to fade quickly. Then it was because I felt I owed him for waking me up. But that didn’t feel right either.”

“Because you weren’t dead,” Henry said knowingly. “You were right here all along.”

Another nod. “Then, I kept going for Mulan’s sake. I thought…I thought she loved him. They traveled together for such a long time. But I talked to her one night, after the campfire died. I told her that if she was in love with him, they should be together. That what they shared meant something, and I was just grateful they rescued me.”

“And what did she say?”

“She said that she’s not in love with him, and I believe her. And yet I don’t have the heart to tell her how I really feel. To stop this insane quest before we get ourselves hurt. Or worse…before we succeed. I don’t know what we could bring back from that wraith, but it might not be Phillip any longer.”

Henry curled in on himself a little. “You should tell her. I don’t want you to get hurt. There are other adventures you can go on, right?”

“There are always other adventures. I’ve found I really like traveling around and helping people in need. But I think I’m…” She gave him that I-forgot-you-were-here look again. “Never mind.”

“You think you’re what?” Henry sat up a little straighter, feeling the wall scrape against his back. He studied Aurora’s face by the firelight.

“Maybe when you’re older.”

Henry had heard that line before. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Aurora’s surprised blink was the only answer he needed. “Hey, I’m eleven, that doesn’t mean I don’t know what goes on around town. Not every fairy tale ends like the ones in the book. But maybe you’re just supposed to have a princess instead of a prince?”

She smiled at his optimism, but it barely touched her eyes. “It’s not that simple, Henry. It doesn’t matter what my feelings are. I won’t be able to tell her anything.”

“Because you’re afraid she doesn’t love you back?”

“When did you become a matchmaker?”

“Like I said, I see a lot around Storybrooke. Lots of fairy tale characters means lots of people falling in and out of love.”

“You’re quite a remarkable young man.” She cocked her head to one side. “I don’t know if Mulan returns my feelings. I hope so. I’ve seen the way she looks at me, but…I’ve been keeping this secret for a while. It might just be wishful thinking.”

Henry frowned. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m just not strong enough. Not like Mulan is. She’s the one who always gets us out alive; I’m the one who just gets us in trouble. I almost got your mother and grandmother killed, you know.”

“Yeah, but you kept coming back to this place just so they could talk to us,” Henry said. “You and I might be the only people who understand what that really means. To brave this place for the sake of what we’re trying to save.”

“Snow and Charming—”

“My grandparents are warriors,” Henry interrupted. “Like Mulan. They take care of problems and they know how to fight. They’re used to scary stuff. Scarier than this, even. But I’m just a kid.”

“I just did what I had to do to get them home safely.”

“Said the hero.” Henry gestured to her.

Aurora went quiet, staring into the fire. Henry watched it too. He’d found that he could sort of control it, make it form patterns, if he thought about it hard enough. He sat and tried to write his name in the flames while he waited for his friend to gather her thoughts.

“She’s like fire,” Aurora whispered suddenly. She worked her lips as though she could pluck the right words from the air. “She keeps me warm, protects me from danger. Changes suddenly. Mesmerizes me. But I’m…scared. Of getting burned.”

“Fire’s not a problem for you anymore,” said Henry.

“I’m still afraid of it,” she admitted softly. “That’s why I sit by the wall. Even though I know it can’t hurt me anymore.”

“But you still come here,” Henry argued. “You could do what my grandmother did. You could make it so you don’t come back. Why don’t you?”

“Because…” Aurora’s voice picked up a new note of clarity. “Because I was trying to prove something to myself.”

“That the fire can’t hurt you?”

“And that someone’s looking out for me.” She giggled suddenly and tweaked his nose. “Thank you, Henry. My fears are still there, but I think talking about them helped.”

He grinned. “You’re stronger than you think. You just need to look at it the right way.”

“You’re going to make some princess very happy some day.”

“Or a prince. Or a dragon.” Henry shrugged lightly. “I don’t really know what my happily ever after’s going to be.”

“I think you’re supposed to make your own.” Aurora took a deep breath, and began to fade away. “I’m going to tell her before I lose my courage. If I don’t do this now…” Her voice trailed off, and she shivered. “Well. See you tomorrow, Henry.” Then she was gone.

Henry sat awhile, silently wishing his friend good luck. Eventually he laid down against the wall to rest a bit – he couldn’t truly sleep, not here, but he could at least be comfortable until he awoke. And yet something still seemed…off. As his vantage point shifted, Henry realized that he was seeing the flames as Aurora had seen them.

Apparently she, too, had learned to control the patterns of the flames. She had wielded them like a paintbrush, twisting the fire into a picture of a woman’s face. The woman had strong cheekbones, a determined set to her jaw, and slanted eyes filled with some unknown emotion. Aurora had obviously taken a lot of time to get the image perfect. Henry had never met Mulan, but he could tell immediately who he was looking at. It was such a good likeness that he felt like he’d known the warrior princess as long as Aurora had.

“She’s like fire,” he said, his words swallowed by the hiss of the flames. And Henry could have sworn he saw the woman in the fire smile, just a little.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Emmalyn for edits!


End file.
